Late effects of diethylstilbestrol.

By 1978 a total of 341 cases of vaginal and cervical carcinoma had been reported in patients whose mothers had ingested diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy. The risk of development of these tumors in exposed females is considered to vary from 0.14 to 1.4/1000. Both surgery and radiation have been effective in treating many cases while the results of chemotherapy have generally been disappointing. Survival is stage related and 54 women have died. Other DES-related complications include cervical eversion transverse ridges and vaginal adenosis; an embriologic explanation of such complications is possible. All DES-exposed females should have a gynecological examination beginning at age 14 or at menarche. It has also been shown that prenatal exposure to DES produces detectable anatomical changes in the male reproductive tract.